H.I.G. Realty Establishes a €1 Billion Resort Hotel Platform in Southern Europe under the Ella Hotels & Resorts Brand
LONDON – February 6, 2024 – H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that several of its affiliates have combined their hotel assets to create Ella Hotels & Resorts (“Ella”).
Ella is a luxury, lifestyle and hotel group operating a collection of sustainable “eco-chic” resorts across Southern Europe. Following a phased development and refurbishment plan, Ella’s portfolio will be comprised of 13 hotels with a total of 4,500 rooms, located in five of Greece’s key tourist destinations. It is projected that Ella’s current portfolio will command a value well in excess of €1 billion.
Ella plans to expand further into additional, established Mediterranean holiday destinations, focusing on opportunities in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, with a target of reaching 10,000 total rooms in its portfolio.
Riccardo Dallolio, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Realty in Europe, commented: “We believe the Mediterranean resorts market is one of the most attractive real estate sectors with the strongest fundamentals and secular trends. In addition to the strong recovery in global travel, the recent upgrade of Greece’s main peripheral airports allowed for an even stronger recovery in their resorts market. We believe that Ella has the potential of becoming a leader in the Mediterranean resort sector, and we are working on a number of transactions to further grow the platform.”
Stelios Theodosiou, Managing Director at H.I.G. Realty in Europe, added: “The Ella team is uniquely positioned to capture the key emerging trends in the hospitality industry, such as the customization and personalization of the guest experience, digitalization of the operating model, prioritization of health and wellness, as well as the growing importance of sustainability. We are excited about the Ella brand and will continue to invest in the hotel portfolio and the business as we continue to expand the platform.”
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. is a leading global alternative investment firm with $60 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Dubai, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:
- H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.
- H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.
- H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.
- H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.
Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.